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Drums took up residence in my skull. My heart pounded a frantic beat.

Raelynn shot me a murderous glare, then leveled a cajoling gaze upon her king. “My love. Don’t be silly. Let me spend some time with her in the dungeon. I will get the answers you seek.”

Idris slammed his fist into the armrest, sending dozens of burning leaves falling from the sacred tree’s limbs. “Do not argue with me. Guards!”

Firm hands clamped down on my arms, dragging my reluctant form up the raised dais to stand before the queen.

“Kneel,” the guard commanded, driving my knees into the marble floor.

I peered up into the face of the girl who’d been a fixture in my childhood. The woman who was my last connection to my parents.

“Raelynn, please, don’t do this. Think of Mamma. Papa. Remember all they sacrificed for us. We were a family once.Beforehim. We were happy. Surely, you remember your favorite doll, Princess Poppy. The three of us had so many adventures together.”

“We did.” Raelynn’s glare turned glacial, freezing me in place. “Until you tossed her into the river.”

Flark, I’d forgotten that part.

I squared my shoulders, jutting my chin. “I wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t pulled the head off of Mopsie.”

Despite my deplorable attempt to reach some long-buried part of my sibling, Raelynn grasped my head, digging her nails into my scalp.

Through Idris’s milky-eyed influence, her violet gaze gave off an amethyst glow. I realized too late that it hadn’t mattered how tightly I’d clung to her hand. She’d been lost to me long before Idris made her queen.

It wasn’t my fault.

None of it was my fault.

Nor was it fate.

As Victor said, our choices are our own.

This was Raelynn’s.

“Easy now,” my sister purred in a way that made my skin crawl. “This will only hurt for a moment.”

The assurance uttered in such a devilish manner only managed to increase my fear.

Tears flooded my eyes as helplessness washed over me. I was about to become one of Idris’s mindless slaves. My worst nightmare was coming true.

Pain exploded between my temples, and then my world turned white.

Chapter Thirty-Five

VICTOR

Deep snow coveredmy legs up to the middle of my thighs. Frigid winds battered my unprepared frame. My thin tunic and leggings did little to block the cold. My fingertips had long ago turned blue. I feared to check the rest of my extremities.

We’d spent the entire day journeying high into the mountain tops. Such was the way of character-building quests, I supposed. Fates forbid they took place in tropical settings with eager room service.

My companion suffered no such discomfort. The freckle-faced child floated beside me in a climate-controlled bubble. Though I’d asked many times, he’d assured me there was only room for one celestial being within.

I shouted over the fierce howling of the wind. “The conditions of this journey are deplorable. I’d like to speak to the manager.”

I imagined Runa’s response to my horrible attempt at humor. An image of her saucy smile warmed me from the inside out.

Runa would think I was amusing. Or annoying. Perhaps both. I’d enjoy her reaction either way.

Runa.